(Sudbury, ON) SNOLAB, Canada’s deep underground research lab, is developing a program forstudents in Sudbury and across Canada that will invite learners to engage with science at SNOLAB.

The project, called SEEDLING (Science & Engineering Experiments at Depth: LearnING at SNOLAB), will begin development this spring. SEEDLING will encourage students from grades 4 to 8 to ask their own questions and follow the scientific method to reach an answer. The program will encourage students to design experiments to test their own questions aligned with the unique conditions at SNOLAB. Selected projects will be matchedwith SNOLAB mentors to design, build, and test experiments via live broadcast from the underground laboratory.

SEEDLING will be driven by curiosity and is designed to increase the exposure of Canadian students to the process of science regardless of their location, available resources, or science background, says Dr. Jodi Cooley, SNOLAB’s executive director.

“Our goal is to develop STEM programming in Northern Ontario and to better reach equity seeking groups as we inspire the next generation scientists and engineers,” said Cooley.

“SNOLAB will provide leadership in advancing EDI in Canada research facilities, will foster a new generation of scientists prepared to discover and innovate in a global economy, and will provide greater access to STEM skills and opportunities in Northern Ontario,” Cooley said.

Funding for SEEDLING will come from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada’s PromoScience program, and was announced by François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry in Ottawa last week. PromoScience will contribute $225,000 over three years to support SEEDLING.

“The SEEDLING program hosted at SNOLAB will have a positive impact on Canada’s applied and fundamental science communities and will play a significant role in uplifting science and  engineering in Sudbury and across Northern Ontario,” said Sudbury MP Viviane Lapointe.

“Programs like SEEDLING remind us that Sudbury is fortunate to have a world-class science facility like SNOLAB right in our backyard,” Lapointe said.